I disagree with your premise here. Some people will always regard cars as status symbols and others will always regard them as transportation utility maximizers.

Just because a person refuses to acknowledge the status accorded a car does not mean it is not a status symbol. I wear jeans and t-shirts. I also recognize that this choice to opt out of fashion is a fashion choice. Further, my choice does little to erode the profit margins of the fashion industry, whose choices trickle down to my available choices of jeans and t-shirts. Even when I opt out of a status-driven industry, my choices remain driven by status.

Besides, if anything we're trending away from the American car fetish (or more likely it's taking a different form).

We're driving less. This is what Facebook has blessed us with. Those who need to drive shall continue to drive. The problem with a "1-car 11-people" future is that they're all likely to need to drive about the same time, and they're all likely to need to drive along a predictable route. It makes a lot more sense to put them on a bus.

If you don't want or need a car, you don't want or need a driverless, "mutual" car. You need a way to get from Point A to Point B. Guaranteed- a bus is going to be cheaper.

But I think we'll care less and less if our cars drive themselves.

We will not care less and less if The City takes 35 minutes to dispatch a Prius to our driveway when it said it would take 10. We just missed our dentist's appointment. Had we taken the bus, we'd be there.